Bestguide
AH member
- Joined
- May 17, 2017
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 19
- Location
- South Africa
- Media
- 2
- Member of
- PHASA
- Hunted
- Mozambique, zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
John,
I have stayed out of this thread intentionally, it is usually my practice in such threads. I have learned over my years on this earth, that jumping in and taking a side in fight over some issue I had nothing to do with, is a good way to end up looking stupid. I have no dog in this fight and as such I'm still not taking a side as I write this post. You may want to tell me off after I write this, but I'm really not attacking you nor am I defending anyone. I'm really just taking a look at this as an outsider with no vested interest in what happened or what should be done about it if anything.
I have followed this thread only since yesterday. A short summary of this thread shows me:
1) A week ago today the original poster started this thread about their hunt with you. While the name John was used in her original post and again later, your last name was not used. Anyone reading this would not have been able to know who John the PH actually was. Therefore for all intents and purposes you were anonymous at that time.
2) In the second post of this thread, Pieter explains his part of the story, but most importantly offered a free hunt to compensate for what happened. It really doesn't matter if what went wrong was yours, Pieter's or even the client's fault. Pieter took it upon himself to make the situation right.
3) At some point it would seem later the client has expressed the offer of Pieter's to be satisfactory.
4) The thread at that point turned into a discussion of taxidermy and issues faced there. But in regards to the original issue, the matter seemed to be resolved.
5) Six days later after being tipped off to this thread from a friend, you join AH to post your feelings on the matter. Again prior to posting, nobody outside of the client and Pieter knew who John the PH was. It was only at that time when you posted your last name that anyone uninvolved or uninformed about the hunt would know who John the PH actually was.
So as I look back a few questions / comments come to mind:
1) Why all the emotion? I get it that you feel inappropriately attacked by both Pieter and the client. And under the same circumstances, I know I'd be pissed. But bringing out the emotion in your posts does nothing for your argument. And in fact dilutes it in my mind. A twist on Shakespeare...... "The PH thou dost protest too much, methinks" is the thought crossing my head.
2) As mentioned, virtually no one actually knew who you were until you revealed your last name. So I can't help but wonder why you bothered to get into the thread? Especially since it seemed to be drifiting towards taxidermy and away from the hunt. Until someone had identified you by name, you had nothing to lose by staying out, but much by getting into it. So what was your motivation for posting in this thread? This is truly a question as I really can't figure out what your intentions were.
3) You're coming across like someone with an axe to grind. Perhaps there's a valid reason for that. However it once again does nothing for your argument, it takes away from it.
4) In response directly to the part I've quoted you and with all due respect, you've not proven anything with any sort of documentation or other evidence. You've made some pretty serious accusations against Pieter, but have substantiated none of them. Perhaps you can, but you haven't so far. In other words you're expecting the readers of this thread to take your word over both Pieter's and the client's. For me personally I've never met you, the client and only very briefly have I spoke to Pieter during show season. I doubt our conversations have lasted 5 minutes in total. So I really don't know any of the parties involved in this. Why would I take one stranger's word over another? If you're going to make accusations it's up to you to prove it, not just say it. Failure to prove it only serves to chip away at your credibility.
Dear Sir,
I thank you for you "well intentioned" thoughts on this matter.
I thank you also be being thorough in what you've said above.
Let me give the short and direct version of why i feel it necessary to state my case as i have.
1) Hunting in SA is taking a beating right now. You will notice i said "too many clients" are going home "dusgruntled and Ripped off" these kinds of client emotions are whats causing the industry to suffer here. I know Pieter very well. Pieter is quite simply NOT what he says he is. My hope is that either an "objective" person scutinizes all of his work. This being from obtaining clients, through the Safari's he offers, areas he hunts, licencing and petmitd right up to all his paperwork OR that he no longer offers Safari's in South Africa.
South Africa cannot afford to have people offering this kind of service, something our wild animals "mostly" depend on when the person offering the service is quite simply not up to the task from a multitude of perspectives.
Here are some of them: illegal hunting: (Note: i realise this is a big accusation but it goes as follows) writing export certificates for game shot on "other" properties. Hunting game at night in provinces where its illegal to do so. Shooting game where all kinds of permits are only obtained after the hunt. Placing clients "at risk" of summary arrest by hunting birds where licences and other permissions do not exist.
Again i have written proof of some of these accusations "in writing"
2) Physical proof exists of the lies he tells. Lets be real about these lies now.
He finds it necessary to obfuscate his responsibilities onto me. And i dont mind that people find out who i am.
A) He says he interviewed me because i was an experienced PH looking for work.
Fact: i placed an advertisement on the PHASA website because i had two groups of Safari clients that i'd organised. Pieter anwered the ad and offered to help out with these clients for a commission (let me say he did a terrible job while they were here and those clients won't be back).
B) Pieter offered me PH work in Pawprint while i continued to seek hunting clients through all means except Africahunting.com because he claimed that was his baby.
Fact: The asserion that he "fired" me or something to that effect is ridiculous and "not possible" Pieter and i continued hunting together a full year after the Safari as mentioned above. Much written proof of this fact is available. The proof i mentioned even involves his signature It is therefore yet another lie on an open forum which ultimately affects all "hunting in South Africa"
3) Sometime during 2015 (at a cost of R8000.00 as i paid a computer lady to help me for a month) i managed to find an agent in the USA that sent through two groups of clients on my behalf. With the first group that came Pieter simply took over the hunt, shot animals that i did not agree with. A kudu measuring 48 inches first thing in the Morning when we had the entire day to look for kudu. This turned into a very embarrassing shouting match between Pieter and myself in front of the clients....but you see. This is the Nature of Pieter. Its not his clients so he will do what he can to destroy other hunters income. Having experienced this unbelievably bad behaviour from Pieter with this set clients i resolved to not even allow him to meet the next group that i had arranged in case of even more disgusting behaviour.
4) At some stage later in 2015 my agent came to SA to meet his various outfitters on his books. Pieter "hijacked" my agent and proceeded doing business directly with him.
Let me say.
This was the final straw for me. I took him on about this issue, tried to sue him in court but failed as my attorney did not think the amounts i was intending to sue for were worth his time. (I also received extremely rude facebook inboxes from clients we'd hunted during 2015. I even had one of Pieters clients try to slap his wife in a Restaurant. I am not sure how these came about) At this time now he owes me in Rands R9999.00 for work and money done on the Pawprint Safari Website.
R14000.00 for Facebook Marketing.
He is witholding a multitude of my hunting photographs and websight "content" that i wrote on his behalf.
In short, Pieter is a very nasty piece of work and i would suggest to anybody willing to listen that its simply NOT a good idea to take on a Safari with him unless there is an objective presence seeing that everything is done according to the law and that all pre and post Safari work is dealt with thoroughly.
Please inbox me your e-mail address here so that i can forward you the necessary proof i am in possession of.
Thankyou
John Weavind